West Linn plans to hire a staff attorney to assist in day-to-day legal affairs, but retain the services of a contracted law firm to represent the city.

The West Linn City Council on Monday approved authorizing the city manager to handle the hiring of an in-house attorney, which would be West Linn's second ever city hall-based lawyer. West Linn Assistant City Manager Kirsten Wyatt said the staff attorney's annual salary would likely be between $85,000 to $90,000 and city officials hope to fill the position by summer.

West Linn will retain the services of Lake Oswego-based law firm Jordan Ramis for contracted legal representation. The city has been using the firm's services for more than 20 years.

Wyatt said the city plans to use money budgeted for attorney services to hire the city attorney.

West Linn converted a city planner with a legal background to an in-house attorney in 2007, but the lawyer left the city a year later. The city reports spending about $200,000 a year on contracted legal services.

"We feel this will give us the best of both worlds," said Wyatt. "We'll get enhanced legal service for the same cost without having to completely rely on a contracting law firm."